MickeyBlog News for January 8th, 2024
Hello and welcome to the first MickeyBlog News update of 2024!
Honestly, this one will remind you a lot of the final update of 2023 in that the story remains massive crowds at Walt Disney World.
Let’s talk about another hectic week.
Don’t You People Have Jobs?!
Disney officials took the good with the bad during 2023.
On the one hand, July 4th suffered mightily due to oppressive heat and a lousy calendar configuration.
The official holiday fell on a Tuesday, one of the worst two days for it.
Conversely, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day landed on Mondays, an ideal calendar setting.
Potential vacationers could choose the week when they visited Walt Disney World.
Some of them only needed to use three vacation days to spend a week at Disney, a dream scenario.
In fact, some lucky folks spent two full weeks at Walt Disney World since it didn’t cost them as much vacation time as usual.
And they needed the extra time! I say this because Christmas Week was the busiest week ever tracked at Walt Disney World.
Remarkably, not much changed after the new year.
Historically, crowds swarm the airports on January 2nd and January 3rd as they return to their everyday lives.
There was no sign of that during early 2024.
On the contrary, we were still reporting multiple sellouts of Disney Genie+ on Thursday!
I may not even need to say this, but a single park selling its entire Disney Genie+ allotment is rare.
For such sellouts to happen at multiple parks bordered on unprecedented until December 2023.
Over the past three weeks, we’ve tracked it so many times that I’ve lost count.
You can guess how crowded the parks must be for most guests to try to buy Disney Genie+. And that’s not even the most remarkable part.
The prices for Disney Genie+ were the highest ever, yet people still bought the entire allotment.
Frankly, I’m out of superlatives here. The popularity of Disney theme parks has never been higher than at the start of 2024.
The Disney Deals
I’ll be blunt here. All this Disney talk has likely made you miss the parks.
You’re probably ready to go back…although maybe not around New Year’s.
Well, Disney has anticipated your desire. Walt Disney World has started the year by offering several potential discounts.
One of the deals is an absolute eye-grabber and hopefully the start of a new overall Disney strategy. So, let’s start with that one.
Are you a Disney+ subscriber? If so, one of your current Disney perks is absolutely incredible! It’s a free Disney Dining Plan during your visit!
I’m not even joking. Those of you planning to visit Walt Disney World from July 1st through September 30th are in luck.
This Disney+ perk won’t last forever, but it’s an amazing offer. The Disney Bundle costs as little as $9.99 a month.
For that price, you receive hundreds of dollars’ worth of free meals during your Disney vacation.
That’s not the only deal, either. Disney is offering a discount of up to 35 percent on hotel stays right now, too.
You’ll also find special offers for annual passholders and Florida residents.
I’d strongly encourage you to contact a MickeyTravels agent to learn your best booking option to maximize your vacation budget.
As a reminder, these travel experts provide their services free of charge, and they’re the gold standard in this industry.
MickeyTravels recently earned Diamond-level Earmark status for the second consecutive year, proving its agents are the best of the best.
As for the Disney+ offer, executives have hinted at a multifaceted approach for fans.
This deal strikes me as a strong step toward that sort of total rewards program. We’ll see whether the trend continues.
Disney Miscellany
Walt Disney World experienced an eventful week. MickeyBlog captured pictures of the New Year’s Eve celebration at EPCOT.
However, the following weekend’s crowds were in town for a different reason. It was a runDisney event.
Alas, the weather proved unhelpful, which forced Disney to alter the start time and the course for Saturday’s event.
I had some dear friends running this race, but I haven’t heard back yet on how treacherous the course was. Nobody loves running in the rain.
Another EPCOT happening starts this week. It’s time for the 2024 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, which starts on Friday.
Disney just posted full details about this year’s Food Studios. Visually, nothing can compare to the foods available at this event.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we got some good news and some bad news this week.
The good news is that fans can participate in photo sessions at Star Wars; Galaxy’s Edge!
Bookings open on January 17th, and the first sessions will start on January 24th.
Elsewhere at the park, Disney has confirmed that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will close for refurbishment tomorrow.
The roller coaster will reopen this summer, which indicates a fairly exhaustive overhaul.
So, the big question is whether the ride will return with a new theme rather than Aerosmith. You’ll want to keep reading MickeyBlog for updates.
The other refurb will occur at Kali River Rapids, which is ready to take its annual winter break.
This one will last a bit longer, as Disney has indicated the ride won’t reopen until Spring Break.
Also, while Disney hasn’t announced specifics, a new Disney Vacation Club Lounge is coming to Walt Disney World later this year.
Woohoo! I looove the one at EPCOT.
Disney Miscellany II
I’ll close this week with three Disneyland Resort updates.
For starters, Magic Keys will go back on sale soon. You’ll get another crack at them starting on Wednesday morning.
So, you can go ahead and put a note in your planner app that you’ll be fighting Disney tech that day. Good luck!
Speaking of Magic Keys, Disney has confirmed that you can use Disney gift cards to pay for your purchase.
However, some rules apply. MickeyBlog’s Whitney Littlejohn explains them here.
To a larger point, if you’re unfamiliar with DisneyGiftCard.com, it’s an extremely useful website, especially if you purchase lots of gift cards.
You can combine them here, which can make larger Disney purchases a lot less aggravating.
We tried to use a Disney Rewards Card and a Disney gift card on the same purchase on Main Street, U.S.A. once, and I’m not sure the cast member ever recovered.
Finally, I’ve got excellent news for Disney California Adventure fans.
World of Color – ONE and Hurry Home – A Lunar New Year Celebration are coming soon.
World of Color debuts on January 19th after a super-quick refurbishment. Then, the Lunar New Year presentation starts on January 23rd.
Okay, that’s everything for this week. Have an amazing 2024, my many loves!
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
Feature Photo: Disney